Meet Thomas Boivin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas Boivin.

Thomas, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was fifteen I was accepted into “NXG Company”, a professional team directed by Alexander Chung. From there I was inspired to take my training to another level and so I started taking more trips to the dance hub of the world, LA! I was immediately drawn to the atmosphere there. The classes, intense training, incredible teachers, and the open possibilities kept me coming back! After a few years of constant trips and immersing in my growth I eventually took a huge leap of faith, left “NXG Company”, and started directing my professional crew called “Cool Giraffes” along side my good friend Randall Mella. Over the past two years, Cool Giraffes have made waves throughout the Canadian dance community by doing events such as workshops, community nights, and also winning local competitions such as Represent Street Dance Competition. Most recently, Cool Giraffes claimed 1st Place at the 2019 Hip Hop International Canadian Finals in Montreal! We are a professional team that bases our training around being both great dancers and great leaders in our community. We strive to be looked at in a positive light no matter where we are in the world!

Away from the competition scene, I still love to be creative! I’ve starred in, and also produced and choreographed shows before! My most notable one would have to be a show I did with my professional tap development program “The Next Steps” called “For The Love Of Tap” At only sixteen years old I wrote, choreographed, produced and managed an entire full length tap dancing show along side four of my very close friends! It was a tough challenge, but all the work paid off when it came to showing day where we sold out two consecutive nights of four shows! Another notable show that I starred in was Alexander Chung’s “Energy” show that he produced in L.A. in the summer of 2017! It was my first show out of the country and was mind blowing! I was so honored to be dancing along side some of the dance world’s biggest names such as Julian De Guzman, The LAB, Home Base, and Bailey Sok to name a few! Just being surrounded by their energy was such a pushing force to work even harder.

Lately, I’ve been working a lot on solidifying my own personal style within the dance world. I always try my best to be balanced between both my Tap and Hip Hop training but since our community in Edmonton is fairly small, it can get tricky to keep up sometimes. Some of my biggest goals are to one day live in either New York or Los Angeles, and to be able to teach worldwide! Currently, I’m working towards getting my Visa so I can make my move to the U.S. and live the dream! I’ve mostly been back and forth Canada and the U.S. which has always been a blast but I’d say my most exciting dance related trip has to be Singapore! I was a back up dancer for an Edmonton local artist, “Lia Cole”, and was invited to perform on PPV Television for the opening ceremonies of One Championship! It was a life changing experience and I can’t wait to do more like it! It really opened me up to the industry side of dancing, which I’ve never gotten to see before and it was so much fun! I have many friends that have back up danced for huge stars and getting a small taste of that for myself left me wanting more! In the L.A. dance scene itself, I am starting to pick up a little momentum and I couldn’t be more excited about it! I’ve assisted classes with Julian De Guzman, Alexander Chung, Taiwan Williams, and was even invited to train with the world renown Kreative Mindz Dance Academy! These experiences that I’ve had in L.A, so far have changed my mindset as to where I want to take my dance career! Although the road is a tough one, I am more than willing to put in the hard work to get there! I’ve had so many mentors and people to thank for helping get to where I am now, and even though I still have a very long way to go and a ton to learn, I am extremely grateful for my friends and family who have given me that push!

All in all, my dance journey so far has been incredible and has shaped me into the person that I am today! I have quite a few exciting projects coming up so keep on the look out on my social media!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
To be very honest, growing up as a male dancer wasn’t the easiest. Unfortunately, there was, and still is, a stigma towards being a boy in dance classes which affected my friendships especially during my grade schooling years. I was bullied and excluded for basically doing what I loved. It was difficult but I knew that everything that I experienced was well worth it every time I stepped into the dance studio. All of that was always outweighed by my love for dance and the love that my dance family and the community constantly gave me.

The next biggest struggle that I’ve had would probably be how seriously my work is taken due to my age. I am currently 20 years old, which can be perceived as being too young in the dance world. Companies, competitions, and businesses sometimes look past me because of my age making it more challenging to find work, but as I continue to build my resume I know that obstacle with fade more and more each time! While my perseverance has gotten me here, I know that I wouldn’t be who I am and where I am today without the incredible support system that I’ve been lucky enough to have had my entire life. I have an amazing family and a wonderful girlfriend that love and supports me and my dreams no matter what! They keep me going!

Edmonton has been so wonderful! The dance community is small so getting the training and opportunities that I dream of can be tough at times but thankfully the Edmonton dance community has been taking steps towards growth! So even though there have been a few bumps in the road, I wouldn’t change my career for anything! I was always taught to take any challenge head on, and give it my absolute best!

Tell us more about your work.
When I was younger I was known for being a great student who was eager to jump in and tackle any challenge that was thrown at me! As I progressed throughout my teenage years, I started taking a very active role in teaching classes throughout my community. I teach all ages and levels! I am known to be a great teacher, especially with young kids, and to have a very specific type of style. I like to teach pieces that are hard hitting, intricate, athletic, musical, and most of all fun!

When I teach I like to focus on the student’s growth rather than just teaching for class footage to post on social media. Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, etc. in my own personal opinion have warped the dance world in more than a few ways. It has helped put dance at the forefront of media with things like back up dancing, viral videos, video dance challenges and other things alike. Since social media is such a big part of every business nowadays, I do like to make the content both within, and outside of class. I only have the best professional videographers film for the best work possible! When it comes to my students I will always give my absolute best since after I eventually move out of the community, they will be the future leaders, and I want them to be as prepared as possible! I teach my students about personal things such as performance, free styling to understand their own body and movement, choreography challenges, as well as lessons about the industry like mock auditions, tour videos, resume making, etc.! My proudest personal achievement would definitely have to be the leap of faith that I took to leave my previous dance team, and start my own! It was scary as I was only eighteen when it happened, but I can say for sure it has pushed me to become the creative that I am today! As a team, we have been able to help and grow our small community in so many ways and I am so thankful for everyone who has believed in me thus far!

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t believe in luck. I believe in hard work. Hard work is what develops your skills and artistry, hard work is what develops your character, and hard work is what will eventually lead you to success! Coming from such a small community, hard work both in and out of the studio is what got me to where I am in my career today! From early mornings, late nights, and tons of failures, pushing through all the obstacles that stood in my way was a challenge, but I believe hard work will progress you through anything as long as you love it and stick with it no matter what! People often say that it takes luck for the right person to see your work at the right time for you to catch a break. I believe that it’s your work ethic that will get you opportunities. Your attitude and good energy that will get you connections. Your work will speak for itself as long as you stay humble, always strive for greatness, and flood rooms with good energy wherever you go!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: thomas_boivin
• Facebook: Thomas Boivin

Image Credit:
Aj li, Jenna Silverstone

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